CAFFEINE

Caffeine: Friend of Foe?

Caffeine is a natural pesticide that attacks the nervous system

Caffeine is found in varying quantities in the seeds, leaves, and fruit of some plants, where it acts as a natural pesticide that paralyzes and kills certain insects feeding on the plants. It is most commonly consumed by humans in infusions extracted from the bean of the coffee plant and the leaves of the tea bush.

I want you to understand that caffeine is a strong pesticide that attacks the nervous system - kills bugs outright - and can cause disease and death in people. It puts a lot of strain on the kidneys and bladder, increasing the need to pass urine, and increases the acidity in your entire body, leading to drying (vata) diseases like arthritis, etc...

It does NOT improve mental performance rather it does the opposite - it makes mental performance worse by confusing the brain and nervous system. Knowing these two facts, a healthy person should severally restrict their intake of caffeine or best still - give it up. Your physical, emotional, and mental performance will improve and be brought back to a healthy, naturally state.

Caffeine reduces concentration and increases stress and error making

When we have taken caffeine we may feel that we are working more efficiently, but scientific studies (like the one below) show that caffeine reduces concentration and increases stress and error making.

Spiders On Drugs

Scientists at the United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration
(NASA) have turned their attention from the mysteries of the cosmos to a more
esoteric area of research: what happens when you get a spider stoned. Their
experiments have shown that common house spiders spin their webs in different
ways according to the psychotropic drug they have been given. Nasa scientists
believe the research demonstrates that web-spinning spiders can be used to test
drugs because the more toxic the chemical, the more deformed was the web.

A fantastic, natural, normal, and beautiful web. The way it should be. Sattvic.

Web created while exposed to LSD

Web created while exposed to Mescaline\Peyote

Web created while exposed to Marijuana

Spiders on marijuana made a reasonable stab at spinning webs but appeared
to lose concentration about half-way through.

Web created exposed to Caffeine

Caffeine, one of the most common drugs consumed in soft drinks, tea
and coffee, makes spiders incapable of spinning anything better than a few
threads strung together at random. CONSIDER THIS CAFFEINE DRINKERS!!

Web created exposed to Benzedrine/Speed

Those on Benzedrine - "speed" - spin their webs "with great gusto, but
apparently without much planning leaving large holes", according to New
Scientist magazine.

Web created exposed to Chloral Hydrat (sleeping pills)

On chloral hydrat, an ingredient of sleeping pills, spiders
"drop off before they even get started".

Caffeine, Nicotine, and Ayurveda

Caffeine and Nicotine are often taken together and quickly increase Vata dosha to a dangerous, unpleasant, and extremely unhealthy level with accompanying symptoms of; fear, anxiety, mental confusion, shaking of the body, increased heart rate, and increased confusion and mistake making.

In terms of the Ayurvedic Gunas, Caffeine and Nicotine are Rajasic (increases nervousness) to begin with and within minutes becomes Tamasic (slothful, depressing, confused). Both are poisons and neither of them will give you the experience of health and balance (Sattva Guna).

Antidotes to unpleasantly increased Vata

Sesame oil body massage (just do the face and neck if you are pressed for time).

Drink at least one pint of fresh water.

Rest for between 10 - 30 minutes until the unpleasant feeling passes.

It is recommended that you avoid caffeine and nicotine entirely. They are both unpleasant and dangerous poisons that have an unpleasant effect upon the human body, mind, and mood. Is it worth it? Just because others do it does not mean you have to.

Coffee mad westerners

Westerners' favourite
beverages are herbal stimulants in the form of caffeinated drinks, including
coffee, tea and cola.

Caffeine is an alkaloid that is a potent
nervous system stimulant. It was first isolated from coffee, a shrubby tree
native to Ethiopia (Coffeaarabica), Saudi Arabia (C. robusta)
and elsewhere, in 1821. Americans drink an average of 28 gallons of coffee
annually, or approximately 10 fl.oz per day. They also spend more money on cola
than on breakfast cereal or any other grocery item, according to the US
Department of Labor. Caffeine from other sources, including a number of
over-the-counter pain medications, boosts the average caffeine consumption in
the USA to between 175 and 225mg per day.

Nor is caffeine the only potentially
stimulating chemical in coffee and other caffeinated beverages. Tea is derived
from the dried leaves and stems of an evergreen plant (Camellia sinensis)
native to Asia. In Britain and many of its former colonies, where the drinking
of tea is a national pastime, addictions to tea are not uncommon. Americans
drink more iced tea (an estimated 95 million glasses a day) than hot tea. Most
green tea is drunk in China and Japan, though green tea is beginning to become
more common in Europe and North America as its potential health benefits are
recognized.

A 5 fl.oz cup of tea contains less caffeine
(an average of 50 to 75mg) than coffee (which contains anywhere from 75 to
150mg) but slightly more than a cola (which has 35 to 55mg per 12fl.oz). Note
that actual caffeine content may vary considerably depending upon such factors
as quality and amount of herb used, brewing time and brewing method.

Cola-flavoured soft drinks are something of
a misnomer. Though some colas in their early formulations contained extracts
from the kola nut, today most colas contain little of the bitter herb. The kola
nut is a seed kernel from a tree (Cola nitida, C. vera, C. acuminata and
other species) that is native to tropical Africa and is cultivated also in the
Caribbean, South America and Indonesia. The plant is in the same family as the
cacao tree and, like cacao, contains the stimulants caffeine (about 1 to 3
percent by weight) and theobromine. Theobromine is a chemical relative of
caffeine that has similar (though less potent) effects on the body. People in
some parts of the world chew the kola nut for its stimulant effect.

Most of the caffeine in colas is either
synthetically derived caffeine or caffeine from coffee. Cola drinks also
typically are extremely high in sugar, with some containing the equivalent of 10
teaspoons per 12fl.oz.

Another common source of caffeine in the
Western diet is chocolate. Derived from seeds (called cacao or cocoa beans) of
the tropical cacao tree (Theobroma cacao), chocolate is a bitter-tasting
herb that is almost always combined with large amounts of fat and sugar to make
it palatable. It contains a small amount of caffeine but a relatively large
amount of theobromine. Americans each consume an average of nine pounds of
chocolate per year.

Caffeine is undeniably an effective central
nervous system stimulant. It stimulates the brain, increases the secretion of
adrenaline (epinephrine) and boosts heart rate. Although relatively safe,
long-term use in excess of 250 to 300mg daily may cause numerous health
problems. Caffeine has been known to raise blood cholesterol levels, deplete B
vitamins, irritate the stomach and bladder, exhaust the adrenals and possibly
lead to breast and prostate problems.

Caffeine Overdose

In high doses caffeine can cause heart
palpitations, headaches, anxiety, panic disorders and insomnia. In industrial
societies, its use frequently results in dependence.

Andrew Weil, MD, an
authority on psychoactive substances, says, 'I estimate that 80 percent of
coffee users are addicted to it. The addiction is physical, with a prominent
withdrawal reaction when use is suddenly discontinued.'

Withdrawal
symptoms such as headaches and irritability usually start within twenty-four to
thirty six hours of one's last caffeine dose.